Thursday, April 12, 2012

Uncle Ron

My husband's uncle passed last week after a year long battle with cancer. He was buried today instead of last week because he wouldn't have wanted to upset anyone's Easter plans. Yes, that is the amazing angel we were all blessed to know. He was a selfless and loving man and thankfully, he has passed these traits on to his children.
I am forever blessed to be a part of the Johnesee, Kowalski, and Glitz family. They are the most loving and wonderful souls it has ever been my luck to encounter. With my health being all kinds of wonky I don't have many good days and have missed more family functions than I attended and regardless of how many I have missed they still greet me with open arms and hearts when I am able to attend.
So in honor of Uncle Ron Kowalski I will be putting up a free short story on my website. A story that he helped inspire two years ago during an extended family vacation to Myrtle Beach. We had gone to dinner at a Brazillian steakhouse that both Ron and Pat, his angel of a wife, enjoyed.
Watching the waiters walk around with large hunks of meat on spikes titillated the horror author in me and so, being one who cannot refuse my muse I began writing a story set amid the same beautiful atmosphere in which I was surrounded. An atmosphere that had more to do with the loving family around the table than the ambience of the restaurant decor.
Several paragraphs in, I came to my senses and realized exactly how rude I was being. Seated at the table hunting and pecking away on my little smartphone's notepad, grinning goofily to myself as I rode the story alongside my characters, I stopped, looked up, and noticed several sets of eyes on me.
Upon realizing my faux pas I began apologizing profusely and everyone just smiled and laughed, including Uncle Ron who said something along the lines of "Don't worry about it, I was just surprised to see someone write so much on such a little object." I put away the beginning of the story and enjoyed dinner with these amazing and so very tolerant folks. That trip is the best vacation I have ever had in my life and I only wish more of the family had been able to come.
Uncle Ron was quick to smile and kind to everyone. He was the sort of person that could turn your day from sour to good in just a few minutes. There was a light in him that shines on in his family, a light that shows the world just what wonderful people they are. I like to think it comes from the halos they're hiding. The whole family is full of these spectacular people. The Johnesee/Kowalski/Glitz family is one that inspires goodness in everyone they meet. So I will give you 'The Steakhouse' in Ron's memory and I hope you enjoy it.
It is horror, I warn you. As much as I am surrounded by angels and light, my muse prefers to take me into the darker scarier places. It is in these spots that I can look back and rest assured that I am blessed with the most wonderful family any person could hope to have. For them, I will always be grateful.